Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk

Janet Van Ham / HBO / Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images

Before Bob Odenkirk played the sleazy but smart lawyer on "Breaking Bad," he did more than just act. The Illinois native began his career as an open-mike stand-up comedian for several years, until he became a writer for "Saturday Night Live" (1975). He went on to lend his written-word talents on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992), "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992) and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (1993). Odenkirk also directed feature films "Melvin Goes to Dinner" (2003), "Let's Go to Prison" (2006) and "The Brothers Solomon" (2007). His roll call of TV credits includes guest appearances on "Arrested Development" (2003), "How I Met Your Mother" (2005) and "Weeds" (2005).

Before Bob Odenkirk played the sleazy but smart lawyer on "Breaking Bad," he did more than just act. The Illinois native began his career as an open-mike stand-up comedian for several years, until he became a writer for "Saturday Night Live" (1975). He went on to lend his written-word talents on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992), "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992) and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (1993). Odenkirk also directed feature films "Melvin Goes to Dinner" (2003), "Let's Go to Prison" (2006) and "The Brothers Solomon" (2007). His roll call of TV credits includes guest appearances on "Arrested Development" (2003), "How I Met Your Mother" (2005) and "Weeds" (2005). (Janet Van Ham / HBO / Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)

Before Bob Odenkirk played the sleazy but smart lawyer on "Breaking Bad," he did more than just act. The Illinois native began his career as an open-mike stand-up comedian for several years, until he became a writer for "Saturday Night Live" (1975). He went on to lend his written-word talents on "The Ben Stiller Show" (1992), "The Larry Sanders Show" (1992) and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" (1993). Odenkirk also directed feature films "Melvin Goes to Dinner" (2003), "Let's Go to Prison" (2006) and "The Brothers Solomon" (2007). His roll call of TV credits includes guest appearances on "Arrested Development" (2003), "How I Met Your Mother" (2005) and "Weeds" (2005).